Chak De India - The Rise of the Phoenix!

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The number of Bollywood movies I have watched in a theatre in the past 5 years hardly totals up to a dozen. Somehow, my patience wears thin when I am in the midst of blaring sound and non- stop whistles and more than life size figures, semi or hardly clad!

I watched Shivaji recently, for the sake of my twin sons…and agreed with my BIL who said, “Leave your brain outside the theatre and enjoy the visuals…” I watched Guru before that and spent half the time admiring the good histrionic talent of Abhishek Bachchan blossoming under the direction of Mani Ratnam…the other half spent on tolerating with little grace, the plastic smiles and wooden acting of Aishwarya Rai! I watched KANK and kept kicking myself for my idiocy in wasting good money and time watching crap!

But yesterday, I spent a good three hours in a theatre, mesmerized by one man and his team of 16 girls… Not just I, the entire theatre, filled to capacity, kids of various ages et al… watched it with dedication. There were moments when there was pin drop silence in the theatre… It was as though sheer patriotism permeated the theatre…
( though I am positive there were not only Indians inside that theatre…) I impulsively punched the air in a sense of exhilaration when the Indian women’s hockey team won their second match against Germany… immediately, conscious about my surroundings I glanced around and saw many other hands up in the air! Such is the fervour the movie creates in you.

For once I saw a movie without inane song sequences, without a heroine or a romantic angle, with a superstar who chucks away his typical idiosyncrasies… a movie with a message for the cricket crazy country.

Playing for India… the idea is beautifully reinforced in the first day in the camp… when the girls learn to declare themselves as part of Team India… The 16 girls, right down to the delightful ‘Ho …Ho…’Jarkhand girl Suimoi (?) steal your heart. The characters of Preeti Sabharwal, Alia Bose, Koaml Chautala, BAlbir Kaur, Vidya Sharma and of course, the negatively shaded Bindiya Naik are extremely well drawn. One doesn’t get the feeling that these are actors… It is as though the women’s team is out there battling for honour for India…Their problems of ego, domestic issues, regionalism and personal glory are all shelved when they are motivated to play as Indians, for the team…rather than for themselves. And naturally, they reap gold for that!

The strength of the movie lies in the controlled portrayal of Kabir Khan, the coach. For the first time in my life I wanted to give a standing ovation to King Khan on his performance as an actor. Oh… he deserves that title for this movie. I suppose I should say hats off to Shimit Amin for c..c..c..controlling Khan’s penchant for overacting… Thank God for not giving us that shaking head, that irritating grimace called smile… Till today I have had the misfortune of watching Sharukh Khan in every movie of his. Yesterday, I saw Kabir Khan, the coach, Kabir Khan, the man implicated by media as traitor rising as phoenix from the ashes of a debacle, as an Indian who is beyond regionalism and religion. Excellent performance there…

The music, I suppose, there is only one song…. the title song…adds to the nationalistic sentiment that beats in your heart, the patriotic adrenaline that courses through your veins, and makes you feel so proud of those 16 wonderful girls and the one man who prove everyone wrong! At the end of the three hours, you feel good.

I loved the shot of Dhyan Singh’s statue in front of the Delhi Stadium…and also the initiation of the girls into Team India… the coach giving permission to Balbir Kaur to use violence in their match against Argentina (tit for tat tactics), the way, the most experienced player, Naik, gets back to the team, all resentment and grouses laid to rest, to play for her team against Korea… the way Preeti Sabarwal and the adorable Komal Chautala learn to bury the hatchet…

The movie shows a lot of unsavoury truth… the intrusiveness of present day media, the bureaucracy of national sports associations, the politics (?) involved in sports, the attitude towards Hockey in India as opposed to Cricket... the chauvinistic attitude towards women’s sports and the typical mob instinct of a people in denouncing a man without any rational thinking.

The movie is like the rise of a phoenix from its own ashes… the phoenix called Kabir Khan, the phoenix called women’s sports…the phoenix called Indian Hockey! On the whole, it is a ‘must – see’ film for you … if you are an Indian… if you are a sports buff… or if you are someone who enjoys a darn good movie!

Hi twinsmom,
Thnx for u'r review..I also heard from my friend that this movie is worth a watch..Im eager to watch that movie..
Cheers
Ramya

Hi Twinsmon

you've written a great review

I saw the movie yesterday and i just loved it... how the movie turned from a one man's struggle into a team's struggle... King khan is as usual at his best...

whenever Shahrukh does something different from his usual romance.. the movie doesnt ring cash registers of the Box office, like when he did Swades, Paheli and now Chak De India... but for sure all these movies were great and now chak de is just amazing... its a good change from the romance in switzerland to the hockey match in Autralian grounds.....

the scene where all the girls beat up the boys is just great... and all the hockey matches shown look very real and will make you bite ur nails.. specially the match with the boys team was ver nerve wracking... and the world cup matches just fill you with patriotism.

overall, it was a great movie, a must watch for everybody.

~Abha

Dear RAmya,
Do watch the movie... You will really enjoy it!

Dear Abha,
Wasn't it a wonderful movie? It was an experience to me... one par excellence!

i loved watching the movie. and actually is it based on true story of Indian Hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi. Negi was the unfortunate goalkeeper of the Indian Hockey Team which lost 7-1 to Pakistan in Asian Games Hockey Final, back in 1982. Though the loss was engineered by faults of the entire team, Negi the goalkeeper was dubbed the villain, and was even tagged as a traitor.Such accuasations brought about an untimely End of Negi’s international career. Negi redeemed his lost glory 16 years later, when he coached the Indian Men’s Hockey team in Bangkok Asian Games 1998, where the team fetched Gold medal. He replicated the success with Indian Women’s Hockey Team as well in Manchester Commonwealth Games of 2002.

Mr.Negi has been the guiding spirit of Chak de India. He trained the girls for 6 months as none of them even knew how to hold the hockey sticks.

Hats off to Mr.Negi , and bringing the best of Shah Rukh Khan.

regds..

I am ardent fan of King Khan. I have been watching him from Circus and Fauji (Teleserials) and was praying for his success. Kudos to King Khan. No.. Kudos to my Sharukh Khan.............

hi twinsmom,

Great review of a great movie.your expression shows how much you have loved the movie.

For the first time in my life i regretted not being part of any sport all my life,such passion is evoked by the movie.

Being a movie buff,i first time saw such a different cinema happening that too in less treaded path of sports....such a commendable effort,three cheers to SHIMIT AMIN and of course king khan for his restrained portrayal of kabir khan.

i really loved that chotu girl who played KOMAL.

happy watching to everyone!!!!!!

Hi Sushma,
Am still under the impact of the movie... the longest hangover I have gone thru in life as a movie goer!

Hi Twinsmom,
You have written the review excellently well. I havent got a chance to watch the movie yet and my hubby has to hear it from me everyday about it .. he he
I love SRK. He is simply the BEST

Hi Monsi,
Please don't miss this movie... It is an experience... makes you proud that you are an Indian... and rewrites the concepts of patriotism...